I can't believe I even feel the need to say this, but last night I witnessed one of the weirdest situations.

What happened to men simply asking a girl out for a drink or dinner? I'm not asking someone to do this for me, because I'm not exactly ready to get back out there yet, but I've just been noticing the strangest tactics lately and I need to share them with you.

I've had serious boyfriends, but they never started as dates. They always started as friends who then became crushes who then became boyfriends.

Now that I'm single, though, I'm witnessing or even falling prey to strange come-ons.

For example, quoting the '90s rap song "You and me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the discovery channel" should not be qualified as wooing.

Nor should the tactic of "Hey, I think I really like her. Can you arrange a group night out so that I can talk to her?"

Men. Honeys. Grow some balls. Ask a girl out.

The worst thing she can do is say "no, thanks." I mean, if you're polite about it and just say "Can I take you to dinner sometime?" I guarantee that the chick won't throw her drink in your face, unless she's crazy, in which case, you have bad judgement skills. I'm just saying that I think it's weird that I'm witnessing more people acting as though they need to trick one another into dating... and that's just creepy.

Am I alone here? How many of you - men and women alike - have actually just gone out on a date with someone that isn't a friend? Is this just a problem of my generation? Do the people of the '90s not know how to date?